Climate change solutions exist, says Foreign Minister

Q. – You’ve come back from Norway, where you saw the consequences of global warming on the ice floes. In India you said, “It’s five minutes to midnight”…

THE MINISTER – Yes, the climate threat isn’t a matter for the day after tomorrow, it’s already here, and it’s man-made, as no serious person disputes any more. In India, the monsoon that is beginning is less strong than before, with dreadful consequences for farmers.

Likewise, the rise in sea levels, the acidification of the oceans, desertification – all these aren’t 80 years away but are happening today. Solutions exist for developing green growth that creates jobs. In Mandarin, as in Ancient Greek, the same words mean “danger” and “opportunity”. So I’m not a climate sceptic or a climate fatalist or a climate blamer. It’s in this spirit that I’m preparing, and will chair on France’s behalf, the global climate conference in Paris at the end of 2015./.